Broneer thought Johnson, who was also a good long jumper, would be successful in any track and field event she pursued, but he convinced Canyon girls' coach Dave DeLong to focus on sprints.

DeLong, whose daughter is living with Johnson in Berkeley, will be on hand at the trials. He'll have another Canyon track alum to watch too.

Lauren Fleshman, who graduated from Stanford in 2003 following a stellar high school career at Canyon, will run in the 5,000 meters, starting Monday.

"Just to have them on our team was incredible," Broneer said. "To see them now at this stage in the game, ranked No. 1 in the country in their events, both coming from the same school together...I think the kids we have now say, ‘Wow.'"

Fleshman came out for a training session at Canyon last year and had the boys team on her heels.

Even though they run different events, her and Johnson have come back and worked out together occasionally during summers.

Broneer said having athletes like Fleshman and Johnson brings credibility to the program. He hopes some of the habits he installed in his runners have paid off, but ultimately prefers to take a back seat. He'll just be proud watching.

"I hope I had a small part of (Johnson's) success, but they're the athletes," he said.